To maintain dental hygiene, it is important to clean the teeth every so often, and to remove food remnants from between the teeth. At present, various means are used for this purpose, dental floss being one of the most efficient means currently available. One particularly popular means is lengths of waxed dental floss, contained within a dispenser, wound onto a spool, with one end protruding slightly. In preparation for use, the user pulls the end of the dental floss, exposing the desired length of floss from the dispenser, and then cuts it and uses it.
The length of the dental floss contained within the dispenser can be, for example, 50 meters. A typical length of the length cut for the purpose of use can be approximately 30 centimeters, although the American Dental Association recommends flossing at least once a day, using a dental floss having a length of about 46 centimeters.
There are many situations in which a user knows that there will be a need for a single-use package of dental floss, such as for example, when going out to a restaurant and continuing straight on from there to another event. In this case, carrying a dispenser with an unnecessary length of dental floss, and continued carrying of the dispenser are inconvenient.
In order to meet the need for small and convenient means of dental flossing, several solutions have been proposed, such as a fork-like with two prongs and a short length of dental floss stretched between them. However, those who prefer a more thorough cleaning with the dental floss wound on their own fingers, one from each hand, do not find such solution satisfactory.
Packages of short pieces of dental floss for single use have been proposed. An oral hygiene device, which is disposable single use package, is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,852,728 of Court.
FIG. 1 of the prior art illustrates the disposable single use package 60 of Court. The single use package 60 includes a dental floss 10 at a length suitable for single use, a first triangularly shaped leaf 61 and a second triangularly shaped leaf 62. The first triangularly shaped leaf 61 and the second triangularly shaped leaf 62 are connected to each other by means of a common ridge. When in storage, they are folded onto each other, and prior to use, they are opened, to enable removal of the dental floss 10.
A single use dental floss dispenser is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,582,194 of Dolan.
FIG. 2 of the prior art illustrates the single use dental floss dispenser 70 of Dolan.
The single use dental floss dispenser 70 of Dolan includes a dental floss 10 at a length suitable for single use, disposed within a cover portion 71, which is closed for storage by means of a lid portion 72. The lid portion 72 is opened prior to use, to enable removal of the dental floss 10.
As used herein dental floss 10 is waxed or un-waxed thin filament or thread designed to be used for cleaning the teeth and the spaces between them.
Dental floss 10 can be made as a single filament or comprising many fibers from different materials, such as silk, Nylon (polyamide), Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), a well known brand name of PTFE is Teflon by DuPont Co., polyethylene, and polypropylene or mixtures of two or more thereof, and can also contain flavors and other ingredient materials.
Dental floss can have several different cross-sections shapes and dimensions.
In spite of all of the known and existent solutions, there is still a need for a short length of dental floss, conveniently packaged for single use. It is possible to simply pre-cut a short length of dental floss and store it in one's pocket, until it is removed from the pocket for use. This would be the most convenient solution in terms of storage, volume, and weight; however, in this manner the dental floss cannot be kept sufficiently clean, and can cause infections in the user's mouth.
There is a need for a device including a short length of dental floss, for single use, whose size, volume, weight, and pliability are similar to those of bare dental floss, which maintaining sanitary conditions during carrying in the user's pocket. Such a device would be suitable for use at restaurants and other places and events, such as at businesses and venues, similarly to the toothpicks provided in suitable dispenser on the table or countertop.